1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage structure for storing a motor vehicle seat which comprises a seat cushion and a seatback that is foldable toward the seat cushion.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, automobiles such as wagons, recreational vehicles, etc. have been in widespread use as passenger cars. Some of such automobiles have passenger's rear seats behind the driver's seat which are foldable forward to create a cargo room that provides a large space in combination with the rear floor of the automobile.
Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 5-40029, for example, discloses a seat storage structure having a storage cavity defined in the floor of a passenger car. According to the disclosed seat storage structure, a seat having a seat cushion and a seatback is positioned in the vicinity of the storage cavity, and, with the seatback folded toward the seat cushion, the seat cushion is swung into the storage cavity until the bottom surface of the seat cushion lies flush with the floor.
Passenger's rear seats for motor vehicles should preferably be slidable or otherwise adjustable in position in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicles to accommodate various body sizes of possible passengers and allow passengers to get on and off the motor vehicles with ease. The above disclosed seat storage structure, however, is addressed to rear seats with no slidable structure, and cannot be incorporated in rear seats that can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicles.
As shown in FIG. 26 of the accompanying drawings, a conventional seat storage structure for a seat 3 having a seat cushion 1 and a seatback 2 stores the seat 3 in a storage cavity 5 when the seat 3 is swung backward about a hinge 4 with the seatback 2 folded against the seat cushion 1. The hinge 4 needs to be positioned as closely to a floor 6 of a cargo room as possible so that the hinge 4 does not project above the floor 6 when the seat 3 is stored in the storage cavity 5.
Since the hinge 4 is positioned closely to the floor 6, however, there is almost no gap between the seat cushion 1 and the floor 6 when the seat cushion 1 is kept in a normal position in which a passenger can be seated on the seat cushion 1. As a result, any space for accommodating a long object or the like cannot be provided below the seat cushion 1.
Because the hinge 4 is positioned closely to the floor 6, furthermore, the floor 6 is required to have a downwardly stepped surface 7 in front of the seat 3 to permit a passenger to be seated on the seat 3 with comfort. Any process of manufacturing the floor 6 with the downwardly stepped surface 7 is considerably complex to carry out.